BCP Social Sciences & Humanities ASSSD 2022
Volume 21 (2023)
715
The Change of TV Series Targeted Chinese Female Audiences
and Its Reflection on the Women’s Movement in China
Sarula Bao*
University of Arts London, London, UK
*Corresponding author: 2111262@students.ucreative.ac.uk
Abstract. Chinese female audiences’ attitudes towards TV dramas have changed. They are no
longer inclined to the romantic themes of idol dramas and criticize male characters in previous TV
dramas. The current research on television dramas has not carried out special research from the
perspective of female audiences. This research will supplement this research perspective and further
explore the connection between the changes in female audiences’ consciousness and the Chinese
women’s movement. This research will guide television workers to produce works that can better
respond to the demands of female audiences, and inspire female audiences to be aware of women’s
issues in real life expressed in television dramas, so as to further promote the development of the
Chinese women’s movement. This research uses quantitative and qualitative research to analyze
the changes in the genre of television dramas and the changes in audience evaluations, and
concludes that female audiences have an increased awareness of feminism, and they are using
social media to deal with misogyny, beautify men, and ignore women’s social value in television
dramas.
Keywords: Television drama; idol drama; soap opera; male character; female audience.
1. Introduction
In China, TV dramas have changed from romantic to realistic themes. Social media has expanded
the discussion of television dramas, as audience feedback can be responded to in a timely manner.
So, are female audiences satisfied with TV dramas? How do they comment on these new dramas, and
can their comments influence the creation of TV dramas? Can we peep a corner of the Chinese
feminism movement from the relationship between television dramas and female audiences?
Historical research generally believes that soap operas are the embodiment of women’s values. It
is widely believed that women prefer love and family themes, some feminist theorists have argued
that soap operas spring from a feminine aesthetic, in contrast to most prime-time television [1]. “Both
Brown (1994) and media analyst John Fiske (1987) assert that each of these characteristics of soap
operas is strongly associated with feminine values and culture” [2].
However, some studies have also shown that the diversity of women has not been properly
displayed in television dramas. Most of the female characters shown in TV dramas are created by
men or based on male’s taste. Positive changes in the treatment of lower-status groups primarily
follow a two-stage process, recognition and respect [3]. In gender studies, acknowledging the
presence of women on television screens in this study can be seen, and respect is measured by whether
women are portrayed in stereotypical roles. Because this diversity is essential for fairness and
positivity.
The current research on feminism study related to television dramas in China is mostly limited to
the plot, such as the characters in the plot or the logic of the plot, and less research is done from the
changes of female audiences. Therefore, this paper conducts supplementary research from this
perspective.
2. Research Methods
This research is completed by qualitative research and quantitative research. In the qualitative
study, the female audience’s attitude change towards male characters in television dramas is used as
BCP Social Sciences & Humanities ASSSD 2022
Volume 21 (2023)
716
a case study, and the quantitative study shows that the audience’s favorite TV drama themes have
changed. Both of these changes show the enhancement of women’s self-awareness.
First, the paper takes the role of the hero Daoming Si in “Meteor Garden” as a case study. “Meteor
Garden” is a Taiwanese idol drama that has a wider influence in East Asia. It has been a flop in South
Korea, Japan, and mainland China. It has a long broadcast time span. The play revolves around the
love and friendship story of four rich boys and Cinderella. The male protagonist’s ruthless,
domineering and other characteristics are loved by a large number of female audiences. However, in
the 2018 version, the character (non-actor) in the play was widely criticized on social media, believing
that the character had negative qualities such as school violence, cold violence, and bullying.
Second, this paper adopts the method of data analysis, uses the research data of CCTV CSM and
the TV drama prosperity index published by Datawin Film and Television Observation to evaluate
the viewing situation of TV dramas. CSM owns the world’s largest radio and television audience
survey network, and publishes the proportion of different audiences of different TV dramas year by
year [4, 5]. Such as the proportion of elderly users, the proportion of young users, the proportion of
male and female users, etc. I first collected data on the proportion of female audiences from 2008 to
2022, and then summarized the trend of changes in the proportion of female audiences.
The Datawin calculates the attention of the audience to various TV genres, and the ratio of the
degree to which TV series are expected by the audience is posted monthly on Weibo. The fans data
is not included, so it has a value-oriented reference from audiences [6]. I first collected the prosperity
data of the popular dramas it summarized, and sorted out the data of female-related themes separately,
and compared the popularity and richness of female themes.
Fig 1. Posters of different versions of Meteor Garden in East Asian countries and regions
3. The Change of Female Views toward Chinese TV Series
Recently, the male characters in TV dramas that were once popular have been re-examined by
female audiences [7]. For example, the play “Romance in the Rain” is adapted from the novel of
Qiong Yao, a famous mandarin love novel author, and it takes the Shanghai naval lord Lu family in
the 1930s as the main storyline, telling the love story of Lu Yiping and He Shuhuan. Since the show
was broadcast in 2000, it has been broadcast on many TV Channels in Taiwan, Hong Kong and
mainland China. and it caused an overwhelming response, as it got the highest annual ratings in
BCP Social Sciences & Humanities ASSSD 2022
Volume 21 (2023)
717
mainland China and Taiwan [8]. In the play, He Shuhuan was ambiguous with Lu Yiping’s sister,
and then fell in love with Lu Yiping, betrayed Lu Yiping, returned to Lu Yiping’s sister again, and
held a wedding. At the wedding, He Shuhuan fled the wedding again to find Lu Yiping. At the end
of the film, the male protagonist eventually returned to Lu Yiping after joining the army with an
injured leg. The characters in the play also watched the couple embrace and kiss at the station. The
audience was very moved, and like the people in the play, they blessed the couples. In 2012 and 2022,
the popularity of the play persisted unabated, and some of the plots once again sparked discussions
among netizens, including the reversal of the evaluation of the character He Shuhuan. The audience
evaluated He Shuhuan as a “scumbag”, a man who only cares about his own feelings, does not
recognize the social precepts of women, and plays with sisterhood [9].
The hit drama “Gentlemen of the Upper East District” in early September 2022 is a male group
portrait drama launched by Zhang Han, the actor of the 2009 mainland version of “Meteor Garden”,
as a producer, director and actor. It is about 4 male college roommates, getting love and career after
graduation. However, the play was not as welcome as the original “Meteor Garden” by female
audiences. It was controversial due to disrespecting women. The scenes of pulling chest straps and
“salty pig hands” in the play caused a wave of negative comments, and was criticized as the “greasy
and embarrassing” work of the year by public opinion. These classic romantic episodes of idol dramas
have led to it getting the lowest score on Douban in the history of TV dramas, 2.1 points, nearly
200,000 netizens scored minutes, more than 96 % give a one-star negative review [10]. Due to a large
number of negative reviews, the drama was removed from all platforms on September 26, 2022 [11].
In general, male characters are facing major challenges, female audiences have put forward new
demands, and behaviors such as acting handsome and cool in the past can no longer satisfy today’s
female audiences.
First, the proportion of female audiences has increased. During the period from 2008 to 2011, the
proportion of female-themed TV dramas in the Chinese TV drama market fluctuated between 27-
33%, and by 2018-2022, female-themed TV series accounted for 47%-49% [12].
Second, the television dramas genre has changed. Around 2011, female-themed dramas were
predominantly fantasy dramas and costume dramas, attracting female audiences through charismatic
male characters and twists and turns of love plots. For example, in 2011, the popular idol dramas
“Palace” and “Striking Heart”; in 2019-2022, the number of urban dramas was the largest. For
example, “Everything is Good” expresses the rising dilemma of women in patriarchal families.
“Thirty Only” reflects the hard work of women taking into account both family and workplace, and
“Golden Years” shows women’s friendship, and once again pays attention to the female friendship
that has long given way to love and has been stigmatized [13].
To sum up, under the circumstance that female audiences dominate the market, multiple elements
of non-love, such as family affection, growth, inspiration, etc., are presented in various themes and
have occupied high ratings one after another. With women as the protagonists, the content that pays
attention to women’s living conditions and self-growth is increasing.
4. Discussion
To sum up, female audiences are re-examining the creation of television series. They question the
behavior of beautifying male characters in television, rationalizing male disrespect for women in the
name of love, and put forward new requirements for the shaping of male characters. Characters that
can be favored by female audiences by pretending to be cool are no longer popular. Correspondingly,
love themes do not occupy a high market share, and urban dramas related to women’s reality have
increased, such as content discussing workplace and friendship.
The creation of film and television dramas comes from life, and in reality, the audience’s attitude
is also being timely feedback through social media, so film and television dramas can reflect changes
in real life. This change shows that the lives of female audiences are not only rich in love, friendship,
family, career, etc., but also that they are the masters of their own lives, no longer objects. As Eaton
BCP Social Sciences & Humanities ASSSD 2022
Volume 21 (2023)
718
(2008) described, during the historical period, women’s reality was portrayed from the perspective of
heterosexual men in visual art and literary creation, and women were influenced by the works and
then self-objectified to please heterosexual male audiences [14]. The current changes in domestic
dramas show that Chinese women are no longer trying to transform themselves according to the gaze
of men, but instead dare to express their criticism and demands of men. Therefore, the current changes
in film and television dramas are actually a manifestation of the Chinese women’s movement.
5. Conclusion
There are also issues such as misogyny and invisible women’s social contribution in the current
television dramas. For example, in the anti-epidemic dramas, the female doctors and female
volunteers in real life were changed to the male, and the boy patient who did not cooperate was
changed to a little girl. Similarly, even if it is a female theme, also faced with the fact that women in
the play easily get promoted in the workplace because of the superiority of their class, and it fails to
convey the unfair treatment of real women in the workplace.
However, compared with the previous Chinese television drama market, the proportion of female
social reality themes has increased. And female audiences began to view the content presented in the
play in a critical way. This remains a progressive manifestation of Chinese feminism.
References
[1] Ahmed, A., 2012. Women and Soap-Operas: Popularity, Portrayal and Perception. International Journal
of Scientific and Research Publications, 2(6).
[2] Drain, Catherine M., “Soap talk: The Appeal of Soap Opera to Contemporary Female Audiences” (1996).
Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006). 51.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pst/51
[3] STEM Gender Equality Congress Proceedings, 2017. Gender Equality Policies. 1(1), pp.850-850.
[4] Csm.com.cn. 2022. CSM Media Research. [online] Available at:
[Accessed 29 September 2022].
[5] Business& Finance., 2022. CSM follows the Trend and Explores the Future Path of Media Research.
[online] Wangyi.com. Available at:
[Accessed 29 September 2022].
[6] Datavin Television and Radio Observation. (2020, October17). [Weibo post]. Retrieved
from https://weibo.com/u/1104220301.
[7] Qian, X., 2002. Re-Examining the World Constructed by Women – An Alternative Interpretation of
“Deep Love, Rainy Rain.” Television Research, [online] 1, pp.70-71. Available at:
.
[8] Wei, Z., 2001. Qiong Yao’s New Work “Deep Love and Rain” Tops Taiwan in Ratings. [online]
Ent.sina.com.cn. Available at: [Accessed 29 September 2022].
[9] Infzm.com. 2022. Why Did He shuhuan Become a Scumbag |Nanfang Daliy. [online] Available at:
[Accessed 29 September 2022].
[10] Pengpai. 2022. "Gentlemen of the East Eighth District" Became the Lowest Rated Domestic Drama on
Douban. [online] Available at: [Accessed 29
September 2022].
[11] Sina. 2022. "Gentlemen of the East Eighth District" Was Taken Down as It Has a Controversy of
Disrespecting Women. [online] Available at: [Accessed 29 September 2022].
[12] Feminist Aesthetics. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Winter 2012 [13 May2015]. Assumes a
Standard Point of View That is Masculine and Heterosexual… The Phrase ‘Male gaze’ Refers to the
Frequent Framing of Objects of Visual Art So That the Viewer is Situated in a Masculine Position of
Appreciation.
BCP Social Sciences & Humanities ASSSD 2022
Volume 21 (2023)
719
[13] That the Male Gaze Applies to Literature and to the Visual Arts: Łuczyńska-Hołdys, Małgorzata
(2013). Soft-Shed Kisses: Re-visioning the Femme Fatale in English Poetry of the 19th Century,
Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 15.
[14] Eaton, E.W. Feminist Philosophy of Art. Philosophy Compass (Wiley-Blackwell). September 2008, 3 (5):
873–893. doi:10.1111/j.1747-9991.2008.00154. x.